The article outlines the performance and outlook of the tourism and hotel industry in Malaysia. Given the strength of the market fundamentals and investment in tourism infrastructure, there’s still potential for future growth.

The 2015 State Ranking Survey aims to assess the competitiveness of the 30 Indian states and identify the best performers from the hospitality industry's viewpoint. The report employs 12 key parameters to evaluate the different states.

In this 4th annual Lodging Tax Study, HVS explores lodging tax trends in the USA. This updated version provides lodging tax rates/collections in all 50 US states and 150 US cities, and estimates the impact of Airbnb on lodging tax collections.

According to the latest data published by Shaanxi Province Bureau of Statistics, 108 star-rated hotels lost 162 million RMB in the first half of 2015, with a total GOP Margin of -6.9%. Of these, only 29 hotels had a GOP Margin above 0%. What’s more, low occupancies and ageing properties are causing some of the star-rated hotels to close down. While the National day in China has been a big draw for travellers in the past, a lot of hotels in the province are struggling to attract customers this year despite offering heavy discounts. This is in drastic contrast to the scenario three years ago: in 2012, rooms were sold out long before the National day.

Swedish group Pandox has entered into an agreement to sell the shares in the entity that owns the Scandic Antwerp in Belgium to Netherlands-based chain Van Der Valk. Pandox will receive net proceeds of €13.6 million (€66,700 per room) after deduction for deferred tax, based on an underlying property value of €16 million which is in line with the company's most recent valuation. "When our partner Scandic decided not to extend the lease agreement for the hotel property, it was a natural step for Pandox to explore various options, including a divestment," commented Anders Nissen, chief executive officer at Pandox. The 204-room hotel is situated in a secondary location two and a half kilometres from Antwerp city centre.